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The Best Solgaleo Recommended Counters (July 2026)

Discover the Solgaleo Recommended Counters needed to defeat Solgaleo in Pokémon GO! These recommended counters are the best high-DPS counters. Likewise, you will find the top budget options, and their optimal attacks. You will also find out how many trainers are needed to defeat Solgaleo, including the perfect CP for Solgaleo caught from raids.

Solgaleo will be featured in Gyms as a Five-Star Raid boss, but it is highly exploitable due to its key weaknesses. As a Legendary dual Psychic- and Steel-type Pokémon, Solgaleo is 1.6× weak to Ground-, Ghost-, Fire-, and Dark-type attacks. Bringing a fully optimized team of high-DPS Solgaleo recommended counters utilizing Fire or Ghost-type attackers will bring it down efficiently.


Solgaleo Raid Cheat Sheet

  • Weaknesses: Ground-, Ghost-, Fire-, and Dark-type  (1.6× damage)
  • Top Attacker: Dawn Wings Necrozma and Mega Charizard Y
  • Group Size: 2–3 high-level trainers or 4–6 prepared players
  • 100% IV (Hundo) CP: 2310 (Normal) / 2887 (Sunny or Windy Weather Boost)

Solgaleo in Five-Star Raids

Solgaleo returns to Raids from Wednesday, July 22, at 6:00 a.m. to Tuesday, July 28, at 9:00 p.m. local time. Additionally, for the first time in Pokémon GO, players may encounter its Shiny variant, if lucky.

Whether you are looking to farm Cosmog Candy (for Solgaleo), hunt for its shiny variant, or secure a Solgaleo to fuse with Necrozma and get the ultra-powerful Dusk Mane Necrozma, having the right team is essential.

Note: Keep in mind that fusing Solgaleo with Necrozma to get Dusk Mane Necrozma requires 1,000 Solar Fusion Energy, 30 Cosmog Candy, and 30 Necrozma Candy. While these raids award Cosmog Candy, they do not award Solar Fusion Energy, which is typically obtained from separate special events or research.


SEE: The Complete List of July 2026 Pokémon GO Events


Solgaleo Recommended Counters

The following are the 10 best Solgaleo recommended counters that deal supreme supereffective damage to Solgaleo, heavily favoring top-tier Fire-, Ghost-, and Ground-type attackers, alongside high-performing Mega, Primal, and Shadow variants.

Solgaleo Recommended CountersRECOMMENDED MOVESET
Dawn Wings NecrozmaShadow Claw as a Fast Attack and Moongeist Beam as a Charged Attack
Mega Charizard YFire Spin as a Fast Attack and Blast Burn as a Charged Attack
Primal GroudonMud Shot as a Fast Attack and Precipice Blades as a Charged Attack
Mega BlazikenFire Spin as a Fast Attack and Blast Burn as a Charged Attack
Shadow ChandelureFire Spin as a Fast Attack and Shadow Ball as a Charged Attack
BlacephalonAstonish or Incinerate as a Fast Attack and Mind Blown as a Charged Attack
Shadow HeatranFire Spin as a Fast Attack and Magma Storm as a Charged Attack
Shadow ReshiramFire Fang as a Fast Attack and Fusion Flare as a Charged Attack
Mega TyranitarBite as a Fast Attack and Brutal Swing as a Charged Attack
Shadow HydreigonBite as a Fast Attack and Brutal Swing or Power Whip as a Charged Attack

 

Shadow vs. Performance

While Shadow variants like Shadow Chandelure offer massive raw DPS advantages due to the 20% Shadow damage bonus, they take more damage in return. Mega-Evolutions like Mega Charizard Y and Primal Groudon provide invaluable attack boosts to your entire raid group, making them a top priority if you are raiding in pairs or small groups. Remember that you can only have one Mega-Evolved or Primal Pokémon active on your team at any given time. After making a choice for which mega to use in your battle party, you can use the regular versions of the other megas.

If you want to earn extra Cosmog Candy while participating in the raids, you can have a Psychic- or Steel-type Mega active (such as Mega Alakazam, Mega Metagross, or Mega Lucario) in the background to boost your catch rewards.


Best Budget Solgaleo Recommended Counters

If you don’t have access to top-tier Shadow variants, maxed-out or Mega Pokémon, don’t worry. Solgaleo’s multiple weaknesses mean there are plenty of excellent, readily available budget alternatives

  • Chandelure with Fire Spin as a Fast Attack and Shadow Ball as a Charged Attack.
  • Groudon with Mud Shot as a Fast Attack and Precipice Blades as a Charged Attack.
  • Hydreigon with Bite as a Fast Attack and Brutal Swing as a Charged Attack.
  • Tyranitar with Bite as a Fast Attack and Brutal Swing as a Charged Attack.
  • Darmanitan with Fire Fang as a Fast Attack and Overheat as a Charged Attack.

Solgaleo Raid Tips

Maximizing your performance in these raids takes more than just a great roster of Solgaleo Recommended Counters. Consider these strategies:

  • Lead with a Fire – or Ground-type Pokémon like Mega Charizard Y or Primal Groudon to activate an instant damage boost for your raid partners’ attacks.
  • Try to focus entirely on Fire-, Ghost-, or Grass-type movesets to take full advantage of Solgaleo’s weakness.
  • If possible, challenge Solgaleo during Sunny weather to give your Fire- or Ground-type attacks an extra offensive edge, or Foggy weather to boost your Ghost- and Dark-type attacks.

Solgaleo Moves to Watch Out For

Solgaleo can use a variety of moves that impact your survival rate:

  • Zen Headbutt (Fast Attack) or Psychic Fangs (Charged Attack): easily resisted by Dark types like Tyranitar and Hydreigon.
  • Iron Head (Charged Attack): Deals standard damage to Ghost and Ground types, but Fire types like Charizard and Reshiram will easily resist it.
  • Solar Beam (Charged Attack): This is Solgaleo’s most dangerous coverage move. It deals devastating, 1.6× super-effective damage to your Ground-type counters like Groudon, often knocking them out quickly. If you notice Solgaleo is running Solar Beam, lean heavily into your Fire- and Ghost-type counters instead. If your initial Ground-type team gets wiped out instantly by a Solar Beam, dodge the upcoming attacks or quickly re-lobby with a backup team of Fire types to avoid losing momentum.
  • Fire Spin (Fast Attack) or Flamethrower (Charged Attack): if the Solgaleo uses these attacks, use Fire-type attackers instead (except Shadow  Heatran)

How Many Trainers are Needed?

With optimized Level 40+ Solgaleo Recommended Counters, a group of 2 to 3 high-level trainers can successfully defeat Solgaleo. However, for a completely stress-free victory to maximize your reward securements, a group of 4 to 6 prepared trainers with the Solgaleo Recommended Counters is recommended.


Hundo CP for Solgaleo from Raids

After winning the Five-Star Raid, you will receive item rewards and an encounter with Solgaleo (which can be shiny)

The “hundo” CP (100% IVs) depends heavily on the weather conditions when you get to the encounter screen:

  • Standard Hundo CP: 2310 CP
  • Weather-Boosted Hundo CP: 2887 CP (Sunny or Windy weather).

If you catch a strong one, Solgaleo’s best standard moveset for Master League PvP and general raiding is Zen Headbutt as a Fast Attack and Psychic Fangs or Solar Beam as a Charged Attack.


How to Catch Solgaleo Easily

  • Use the Circle Lock Technique: Hold down your Premier Ball until the targeting circle shrinks to an “Excellent” size, then let go. Wait for Solgaleo to complete its attack animation before throwing the ball.
  • Time Your Throw: As soon as Solgaleo begins its attack animation in the center of the screen, spin your curveball. Throw the ball right as the attack animation finishes so the circle is locked to your preferred size.
  • Be Patient: Avoid throwing when Solgaleo is drifted to the far left or right edges of the screen, as hitting an Excellent throw becomes significantly harder.

Sources that helped in creating the Solgaleo Recommended Counters: Pokébattler and Pokémon GO Hub database.

digancy

Level 80 Pokémon GO Trainer. Content Creator. Catching Pokémon in Pokémon GO since 7/13/2016. Now with 700K+ catches and 1.2 billion+ XP. Covering Pokémon GO News • Events • Analysis, etc.
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